Mount for toy machine gun or the like



Oct. 5, 1965 J. L. BONANNO MOUNT FOR TOY MACHINE GUN OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 15, 1964 Oct. 5, 1965 J, BONANNO MOUNT FOR TOY MACHINE GUN OR THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 13, 1964 INVENTOR:

JdS'P/f z. Jan/44mm United States Patent 3,210,034 MOUNT FOR TOY MACHINE GUN OR THE LIKE Joseph L. Bonanno, South Orange, N.J., assignor to De Luxe Reading Corp., Elizabeth, N.J., a corporation of New Jersey Filed Apr. 13, 1964, Ser. No. 359,013 7 Claims. (Cl. 248-468) This invention relates generally to toys, and has particular reference to simulated machine guns or the like, composed mainly of plastic or similar relatively lightweight material.

It is a general object of the invention to provide a structurally improved gun mount which is more rugged and staunch than those heretofore available.

The type of mount to which the invention relates is of the relatively low kind in which there is a platform for supporting a load, and pivoted legs extending outwardly from it, the legs in their operative positions forming acute angles with the ground upon which they rest.

In an endeavor to achieve a realistic simulation of an actual machine gun or similar articles, it has been common practice, in the manufacture of toys, to support the gun or other article upon a pedestal or mount of the character referred to. The gun itself, as well as the mount, are usually composed essentially of moldable plastic, because it is economical and because it lends itself to fabrication in a variety of shapes and contours, and

in various colors, whereby remarkably realistic appearances can be imparted to the toys.

However, some of the plastic materials that are commercially best suited for the purpose are not able to withstand certain stresses, notably bending and tension. Breakage is therefore quite common, since the toys are often subjected to rough and careless useage. In the case of a gun mount, it is the pivoted legs which are particularly susceptable when overloads are applied to the platform. Such overloading would be brought about, for example, if a person were to sit or stand on the platform, fall upon it, or otherwise apply weight which the toy or mount was not primarily designed to withstand.

An objective of the present invention is to provide a mount of the kind referred to in which the legs can continue to be made of low-cost light-weight plastic or the like, but are so supported in relation to the platform to which they are pivoted, that overloads of even unusual magnitudes can be withstood and resisted without breakage. The achievement of this desirable result is predicated upon an improved design and assembly of cooperating parts whereby a special resilient unit functions in an unusually effective manner to cushion shocks and absorb overloads, thus preventing leg breakages that might otherwise occur.

Since a mount of the character referred to may be useful for the support of loads other than toy guns or the like, a broader object of the invention is to provide a mount of inexpensive light-weight material which, although not necessarily inherently highly resistant to breakage, may nevertheless serve ruggedly to support a predetermined load and to resist overloads, without breakage.

A more particular object is to provide a load-absorbing means of the character described which is inexpensive to manufacture, inconspicuous in appearance, and reliably effective for long periods of time.

Another object of the invention is to attain these results in a thoroughly practicable and commercially economical manner.

One Way of achieving these objects and advantages, and such other benefits as may hereinafter appear or be "ice pointed out, is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- FIG. 1 is an elevational view of a mount embodying the features of this invention, an illustrative load in the form of a gun or similar article being indicated in dotand-dash lines;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary view of the central region of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view in the same direction as FIG. 2; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary top view.

The gun 10 is supported upon a circular platform 11, and the platform is supported upon radially extending legs 12. These parts are composed essentially of plastic, and the parts may have any desired coloration and contours to simulate a real gun mount. Each of the legs 12 has been shown provided with pivoted feet 13 to enhance the desired simulation.

The gun or other article may be advantageously mounted for rotative movement on the platform 11 and one way of achieving this resides in forming an upstanding circular peripheral wall 15 on the horizontal main part or floor 14 of the platform 11, this wall serving to support and guide a downwardly extending skirt 16 concentrically fitted within the wall 15, as best indicated in FIG. 3.

At its center, the platform 11 is advantageously provided with an integral vertical sleeve, one part 17 extending upwardly above the level of the floor 14, the other part 18 extending downwardly below the fioor 14.

Extending downwardly beyond the part 18 is a sleeve 19 of elongated character and of reduced diameter with respect to the part 18. The sleeve 19 is connected to the part 18 by radial fins 20 (see FIG. 4).

At the lower end of the sleeve 19, a dish-shaped spring support 21, composed of metal, is secured in position. Preferably this result is achieved by extending a bolt 22 through the sleeve 19 with its lower enlarged head 23 pressing upwardly against the element 21. The upper end of the bolt 22 is engaged by a nut 24, and in the illustrated embodiment presses downwardly upon a washer 25, a spacer sleeve 26, and a washer 27 that rests upon the fins 20.

A compression spring 28 has its lower end resting upon the spring support element 21, and it extends upwardly in concentric relation to the sleeve 19. Its upper end presses against a plate 29 whose central region normally presses against the lower end of the sleeve 18 which thus serves as an abutment to limit upward movement of the plate 29. The plate 29 is, however, mounted for up-anddown movement on the sleeve 19, its downward movements being resisted by the spring 28. The spring is preferably pre-loaded or pre-st-ressed to a predetermined degree so that a substantially straight-line stress-strain condition exists.

A spacer sleeve 26 is of advantage in guiding the rotative movements of the gun or other element of which the skirt 16 forms a part. Thus, as indicated in FIG. 3, this element may have a concentric part 30 extending downwardly into the sleeve 17 and into sliding engagement with the sleeve 26. The washer 25 thus serves to hold this rotatable part against separation from the platform 11.

The platform is mounted upon diverging legs, preferably but not necessarily three in number. Only two of the legs are visible in each of FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. Each of the legs 12 is pivoted at 31 to a bifurcated part 32 formed as an integral section of the plastic molding of which the platform consists. Any suitable pivot means 33 may be employed to articulate the leg 12 to the corresponding part 32, and the details of this pivot connection will therefore not be described. Of primary import- 3 ance, however, is the rigid upper extension 34 on each leg, this extension projecting upwardly beyond the pivot axis of the leg and being shaped and adapted to bear downwardly upon the marginal part of the movable plate 29.

Under normal circumstances, the plate 29 presses upwardly against the abutment 18, with its marginal part projecting radially beyond the abutment; and the leg extensions 34 lie above the plate 29 as indicated in full lines in FIG. 3. Should the platform be overloaded (such overloading being caused, for example, by carelessly sitting or standing or jumping upon the platform) the legs 12 will pivot in the direction of the dot-and-dash lines of FIG. 3, causing their upper extensions to exert a downward force upon the plate 29. This plate will then yield, as indicated, and the overload will be absorbed by the tensioning of the spring 28. As soon as the overload has been removed, the spring 28 will restore the parts to their original positions.

Of importance is the fact that this action prevents the application of intolerable stresses to the legs 12. As a result, the legs are not subjected to breakage, and remain intact despite over loads of the character described, and despite the fact that the legs are made of structurally weak material.

It is to be understood that many of the details herein described and illustrated may be modified by those skilled in the art without necessarily departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a mount of the character described, a platform for supporting a load, legs pivoted to the platform and extending outwardly from it, each leg having a rigid extension which projects upwardly beyond its pivot, said extensions being urged in a downward direction when downward pressure is exerted upon said pivots, and resilient means operatively interposed between said extensions and said platform for yieldably resisting downward movements of said extensions when loads are applied to said platform.

2. A mount as defined in claim 1, in which said resilient means comprises a compression spring.

3. A mount as defined in claim 1, in which said resilient means comprises a pro-loaded compression spring.

4. A mount as defined in claim 1, in which said resilient means comprises a plate mounted for up and down movements below said platform, said extensions being adapted to bear downwardly against said plate, a preloaded compression spring beneath said plate, and means for supporting said plate and spring as a unitary assembly beneath said platform.

5. A mount as defined in claim 4, in which said lastmentioned supporting means comprises a vertical sleeve secured to said platform, a spring support at the lower end of said sleeve, and means for securing said spring support against downward pressure.

6, In a mount for a toy machine gun or the like, a platform for the gun, a spring support rigidly secured to the platform and centrally located below the latter at a distance therefrom, a plate above said support mounted for vertical movement, a compression spring between the support and the plate for yieldably resisting downward movement of the plate, radially arranged legs pivoted to the underside of the platform, and an upper extension on each leg beyond its pivot adapted to bear downwardly against said plate, whereby overloads on the platform are resiliently absorbed by said spring.

7. A mount as defined in claim 6, including a central abutment on the platform against which said plate is pressed upward by said spring during normal periods, said plate having a marginal region lying radially beyond said abutment, said leg extensions lying above said marginal region.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 486,075 11/92 Benoit 248-l68 1,054,906 3/13 Coe 248402 1,859,289 5/32 Dalton 24817l 2,347,443 4/44 Vesely 248-170 2,653,000 9/53 Cadwell et al. 248168 2,935,313 5/60 Momchilov et al. 248399 2,968,818 l/61 Petersen -a 248399 3,016,802 1/62 Grunenberg 8940 CLAUDE A, LE ROY, Primary Examiner, 

1. IN A MOUNT OF THE CHARACTER DESCRIBED, A PLATFORM FOR SUPPORTING A LOAD, LEGS PIVOTED TO THE PLATFORM AND EXTENDING OUTWARDLY FROM IT, EACH LEG HAVING A RIGID EXTENSION WHICH PROJECTS UPWARDLY BEYOND ITS PIVOT, SAID EXTENSIONS BEING URGED IN A DOWNWARD DIRECTION WHEN DOWNWARD PRESSURE IS EXERTED UPON SAID PIVOTS, AND RESILIENT MEANS OPERATIVELY INTERPOSED BETWEEN SAID EXTENSIONS AND SAID PLATFORM FOR YIELDABLY RESISTING DOWNWARD MOVEMENT OF SAID EXTENSIONS WHEN LOADS ARE APPLIED TO SAID PLATFORM. 